Which resources have you used in the past which helped you break into IB? Whether it was to learn financial models, key terms, industry news, etc outside of the classroom in addition to WSJ and Investopedia
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I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you should really spend an hour or two just reading through WSO. There are hundreds of posts, many of them from me, that answer your questions.
Read all threads in the WSO Investment Banking Hall of Fame, the WSO Private Equity Hall of Fame, and the WSO Corporate Finance Hall of Fame
News sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/what-news-sources-do-you-use-dai…
Financial models: A Simple Model and Investment Banking (just get a cheap used copy off eBay...no need to buy a new copy or even the latest edition)
This along with like macabacus, a simple model, BIWS, street of walls....paying attention in class....
Like I don't know how people claim we are in an Information Age when there's still such people.
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
Oops. On tablet and I hit both banana and poop. Meant banana only. Thanks.
Sil you should probably let him do his research... and good info
Too good to lend a hand to someone? lol get over yourself
Thank you, this helps a lot!
Are there any specific resources/guides available for learning O&G IB technicals? There doesn't seem to be anything as concrete as the WSO guide for specifically O&G.
Financial Basics for the Financially Illiterate (Originally Posted: 02/10/2014)
Want are the top things you'd teach your children or any youth, for that matter, about personal finance, the financial markets, etc.
Breaking into Wall Street has a course on O&G
Stop suggesting shit like this. You can find stuff if you google and ask older friends. Paying $100s for a BS course is not the answer.
Don't use leverage in personal finance, find out how best to save for your old days and start doing it, unless you can do it full-time and are good at it don't invest any significant amounts of money in volatile instruments, etc.
Build credit, but pay off the bills in full every month.
If you want to be extremely cash flow-conscious, get credit cards that don't charge interest for a year and let the balances sit during the period. I'd imagine you can make some kind of return on that money if you went through the trouble...
Leading me to say the same with student loans. Even if your parents can afford to pay for the full cost of tuition, you could get those non-interest loans while in college so your parents can invest that money interest-free for the four years you're in college. Just be sure to pay it off once you get out.
I'll be honest I disagree with the point about the student loans. Students loans are the only thing in my mind that you simply should avoid if at all possible. If you can pay it, do it. I'm not a fan of taking student loan money over those four years and then investing it until you come out and pay it off. They are the one thing that follows you until you are dead, and basically even afterwards. It seems to me that you are asking for it if you do that. Besides, what are you going to invest it in? The market? That's a lot of unnecessary risk in my opinion when it comes to student loan money. Pay it off and don't look back.
I feel the same way about the credit card situation. Actually, I'll put it this way. Avoid carrying revolving debt like it's the damn plague. There is almost no upside as far as earning potential is concerned, but a ton of downside risk if you lose your job, or you suck at investing, or the market just goes against you.
I'll give some general advice:
If you have to borrow to spend, cut back your spending. I'm a huge fan of charge cards or credit cards where you pay your balance off in full every, single month. Don't miss, don't let it lapse and don't carry balances over time.
Use debt wisely. It might come off that i'm a risk, debt averse prude but that's certainly not the case. I simply think you should pick and choose your debt. I think debt is a phenomenal tool to build your wealth over time say through real estate, or starting up businesses. Just don't get too cute with it and try to be a bank.
Compound interest is phenomenal, but I think everyone here has said that.
It's not about how much you make, it's about how much you spend.
I can't say I 100% agree with your post. Debt is extremely useful if used PROPERLY.
Not using credit cards is stupid, BUT having them and NOT paying them off everything is also stupid. Oddly, no class I've taken has ever pointed this out, but most places charge 2% extra on every item they sell to take care of charge fees (depending on size it can be more or less). So using your credit card to get that 1% cash back on everything helps defray the cost that you're charged regardless of whether you're using a card or not. If you don't pay it off at the end of the much you're paying 10-30% interest which means using it as a short/mid-term loan is just dumb.
gov't subsidized loans -> 0 interest, if you're risk averse then choose your investments accordingly. Index funds if you're lazy and/or have other things to do, worst-case you stick 'em in government bonds (so that way the government can pay the interest on your own debts. I find this highly entertaining.) That way you're making 3% on your 0% loan. 100k loan @ 0 interest put into 100k @ 3% after 5 years = 115,900 w/ only interest rate risk... congrats, you made 16k risk-free on money you borrowed at 0 interest but still only owe 100k. When you graduate take that 100k and pay off the loans, now you have a 16k investment account and everyone is happy (I'm assuming it makes the government happy to pay interest, otherwise we wouldn't have so much debt).
I agree with everything else, for sure.
Thanks guys!
Teach him the power of compounding and how to invest. As little as 500$ at a young age, well invested, can definetly help with student loans. Teach him to do it himself, and not wait for financial advisors to sell him bullshit 3% yearly returns. I regret so much my parents not teaching me investing at a young age.
Compound interest.
Ackman does a decent job in an hour video about the basics of business and the markets side of things. http://www.floatinguniversity.com/lectures-ackman
I always loved Fred Wilson's simple explanation of personal finance http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2012/11/the-flow-and-the-balance.html
As IP said compound interest, show them an online calculator and see the difference of something compounding say 20% vs 30% and then show them at year 5, 10 & 20.
Last thing I would explain the basics of tax, how the progressive tax system works (use online calculators) and the difference between income tax and capital gains.
Leverage to the hilt in staple non traditional asset classes. If you aren't using leverage you aren't doing it right. I can generate 20% returns at 1% costs in assets that are very stable. If I was using just cash to do this I would be leaving 70 to 80% on the table.
In no particular order:
Paycheck autodebit -> DCA investing. Actively trade only 10% +/- of your portfolio
Revolving debt is a backup plan, especially now that rent is counted towards credit score
If you can't pay for it in cash and it's not an emergency, YOU DON'T NEED IT
Student loans are a necessary evil. Kill them off ASAP
Earn more, save more
Good relationships with family/friends will save you money, among other benefits
EARN MORE, SAVE MORE
Buy on others' fear, sell on their greed: trade on others' emotions. Don't get cocky
EARN MORE, SAVE MORE
Title/rank/job are only more important than income if they're going to actually lead to more income.
You are expendable to employers. So by default....every job and employer is a disposable asset as far as you are concerned. If there's nothing in it for you, you don't have time for it. YOUR TIME IS VALUABLE.
I'll add one more that goes along with what you are saying indirectly. Avoid lifestyle creep. It's very easy to allow your lifestyle to come up to your income level. Try to live below your income as far as you can. Set your deductions to auto-increase year over year with what you expect your income increase will be. That is the biggest thing I've changed and it helps a lot.
I'm surprised no one has pointed this out yet - check the fees on your investment products and choose the lower cost option, particularly for commoditized products. In the long run it will save you huge amounts of money.
I second compound interest. It's a concept that's so simple but took me a while to internalize, and I have a feeling lots of people here still haven't. On a related note, really internalizing the concepts of present value and yield are also crucial. Sometimes I think those that come from non-finance backgrounds (particularly STEM) have a leg up here in these basic things because they look at it from a very structured and unbiased perspective.
Agreed w/ Duff, investors can get killed on fees in the long run. Vanguard's site has nice examples of that if you're investing in index funds.
It's not strictly finance/investing, but I want my kids to be flexible with their careers and have a broad skill set so they don't become obsolete.
The irony of this is I have a 180 view of the rest of you....
Can you provide details of your view and why you take this view?
That can be a blog idea
hard work and networking.
forums to understand the basics of finance industry (Originally Posted: 01/16/2018)
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enkryptonite, way too quiet in here. What about these resources:
If we're lucky, maybe these professional users will respond: JHennessey treyp525 thesh91
Hope that helps.
Get every term and definition TATTOOED on your WRIST.
Financial Accounting Important Concepts (Originally Posted: 07/12/2012)
Hey,
I'm reviewing my Financial Accounting Text Book again to prepare for the technical part of interviews. I'm an UG looking to do get into an ER/AM SA program at a BB or a major AM firm.
What concepts should I focus most on in F.A?
Also I'm taking Finance in the Fall, what are the most important concepts to review in F.A. in preparation for corporate finance?
In general, what is the best way to prepare for a technical interview (e.g best guides, any textbooks, etc. to read)?
Thanks!
Get every term painted on the walls of your SEX DUNGEON
No, that's STUPID.
You should know all of it in detail. SA level interview stuff is probably understanding how any given transaction will affect each of the statements.You should also actually look at some filings and read the notes to get an idea of what kind of information is there.
the WSO technical guide is all you need for SA interviews. ditch the textbook, its too broad and won't really help you answer interview questions.
I bought the Training the Street corporate valuation and excel best practices self study courses. Fucking life savers. I've learned more in a month using them than in the past two years.
Macabus, Aswath Damadoran, and Ibanking Valuation by Rosenbaum
Also, bamsec for easy access to financial statements.
Boom
The very best Approach to learn about everything is to find a capable mentor within your working environment and learn from them.
Older mentor -> + knows a lot of stuff + can give you long-term career advise - you may not ask every "dumb" question - often less technical knowledge
Your age mentor -> + you can ask more freely + understands your cirumstances better + often better technical Knowledge than senior Level mentors - limited knowledge
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